A Wolf in Human's Clothing
by NatsumiDragneel123
Summary: Ryoga Hibiki has always felt alone. But, have you ever wondered why? Learn more about the eternal lost boy as the cast of Ranma join forces with Team Inuyasha to help Ryoga learn more about his past and his family than he ever thought possible. And maybe, somewhere along the way, he will find that little something he has been missing in his heart.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**

Ryoga was hungry and worn out and each step her took felt like he was being dragged further down. He continued to look around as he took another few steps. His vision was blurry, however, he noticed a small shrine and began to make his way towards it. He then set down his backpack and started to take things out of it. Suddenly, a girl walked another the corner, calling back inside the house, "See you in a few days, Mom!" And, even though, his vision was growing blurrier, he could tell that the girl had long black hair and big brown eyes. She wore a white and green school uniform. On her back, she carried a large yellow backpack of her own. Finally, the girl noticed Ryoga and jogged over to him. He blinked slowly as she bent down in front of him.

"Are you alright? You look pretty pale." she asked as Ryoga's eyes began to close.

"Yeah…I'll be…fine." he mumbled as the darkness took hold. The last thing he heard was a new voice saying, "…Kagome?"

***TIME SKIP***

Ryoga could hear as series of unfamiliar voices from all around him, but kept himself as still and quiet as he could as he tried to make out what the voices were saying.

"…Are you sure, Inuyasha? He doesn't look like one." came a young girl's voice.

"Of course he is! I can smell it on him! He smells just like the mangy wolf!" growled a rougher voice belonging to a young man.

"Well, you do have a better nose than us, Inuyasha." came yet another voice, this one low and sweet.

Suddenly, a soft hand was placed on Ryoga's cheek.

"Hmmm…he doesn't seem as hot now as when you and Inuyasha first brought him in."

Ryoga leaned into the gentle hand and mumbled, "Mom…?"

He opened his eyes, only to find himself in an unfamiliar futon in an unfamiliar room. And crouched next to him was the girl from before, a young man with long silver hair, golden eyes, and wearing a red kimono.

"Are those…ears?" Ryoga thought to himself as he turned his head to get a better look. And the boy, as if sensing Ryoga's gaze, turned to look at him. They continued to lock gazes before Ryoga dropped his own. The boy then gave him a small smirk as he turned back to the girl.

The person who still had her hand on Ryoga's cheek was an older woman with short black hair, kind brown eyes, and wearing a pale yellow dress covered by a light blue apron.

"Are you okay now, dear?" she asked, removing her hand with a kind smile.

"Hm? Oh, yeah…I'm fine…" Ryoga mumbled as he tried to sit up. However, he was pushed back by the firm hand of the older woman.

"You need to rest. You have a high fever.." she said in a motherly tone.

Ryoga laid back down, but kept his eyes on the three strangers. "Just who are you people?" he asked, confused. And this caused the girl to give him a kind smile of her own.

"My name's Kagome Higurashi. And this is my mother and Inuyasha." she said, pointing to herself, the woman, and the silver-haired boy.

"Pleased to meet you." Ryoga answered.

"And what is your name, my dear?" asked Kagome's mother.

"My name's Ryoga. Ryoga Hibiki."

"You call me Yuki Higurashi. I'm pleased to meet you as well."

Ryoga gave her a small smile, which caused him to show off his fangs. Just then, an old man came into the room, carrying a tray of food.

"Here's the food you wanted…DEMON!" he suddenly yelled, pointing a bony finger at Ryoga, who blinked in confusion. The old man then whipped out a piece of paper and stuck it on Ryoga's forehead. On the paper, it read "SEAL".

"BE GONE, FOUL DEMON!" the old man yelled, causing an angry aura to surround Kagome's entire body.

"Grampa?! What do you think you're doing to our guest?!" she demanded, standing up with her hands on her hips. Grampa Higurashi made a hasty retreat when he saw the furious look in Kagome's eyes. He muttered the word, "demon" as he walked out.

Mrs. Higurashi sighed as she removed the cool cloth from Ryoga's forehead. "Sorry about that. Grampa thinks anyone with fangs is a demon." the older woman said, re-dampening the cloth in a nearby basin.

Inuyasha snickered in the background, making Kagome turn her glares onto him. This gave Ryoga a smug smile as he turned to the two teenagers.

"So, what were you saying before? About me smelling of wolf?" he asked as Mrs. Higurashi placed the cooling cloth back on Ryoga's forehead.

However, Inuyasha clicked his tongue in stubborn annoyance.

"Inuyasha! Don't be rude!" Kagome scolded.

"That's strange…" Mrs. Higurashi said all of a sudden as she removed the cloth and placed her hands on Ryoga's forehead.

"What's strange, Mom?" Kagome asked in confusion.

"Ryoga…your fever. It's…It's completely gone!" the older woman gasped in shock. "I'm sure it was high a few minutes ago!"

Kagome then felt Ryoga's head as well.

"Wow! It really is gone!" she said, looking at him in awe as Ryoga sat up and stretched his arms.

"Huh. I don't feel as bad as I did before." he noticed with a yawn.

Inuyasha then stared at him with an odd look. "In answer to your question before, you smell like someone me 'nd Kagome know. He's a full wolf demon. But, from the smell of you, you're a half demon."

But, Kagome took one look at Ryoga's face to what Inuyasha was saying. Giving an exasperated sigh, Kagome cleared her throat, gaining the attention of both Inuyasha and Ryoga.

"Let me explain. Where Inuyasha comes from, there are demons, priestesses, and monks. You see, he is now from our current time. He actually comes from over 500 years in the past. Now, Inuyasha himself, is a half dog demon, hence the ears and powerful sense of smell. And Inuyasha is saying that you smell like a wolf demon because he has such strong senses. In fact, he would be able to smell a familiar scent from several miles away."

Ryoga nodded in silence as he continued to take it all in. "So…you're saying I might be half wolf demon just because this guy can smell it on me? Then, what's the other half?"

"Human." Inuyasha said bluntly. "Your other half will be human, just like mine. One of the parents will be human. The other, demon. And right now, you're in your human form. 'Nd Kagome? Is it really wise to be telling him all this?"

Kagome nodded her head as she rolled her eyes in irritation.

"Yes, Inuyasha. We can trust Ryoga. He has a nice aura. And from what I can tell, he can be trusted."

While this was going on, Ryoga and Mrs. Higurashi were listening intently.

"Huh. Guess my father was the demon…" muttered Ryoga darkly, causing Inuyasha's ears to perk up in interest.

"So, will you be able to turn Ryoga back to his half demon form, then?" Mrs. Higurashi.

Inuyasha thought about this for several minutes before turning to Kagome with an odd look.

"Kagome, I'm going to need your help."

Hearing this caused Kagome to simply blink in confusion.

"Sure, but…what do you need me to do?" she asked after several seconds of silence.

Inuyasha then turned to Ryoga with such an intense stare that the dark-haired teen was feeling slightly afraid and sat back a few inches.

Okay, Kagome. I want you to listen very carefully and do exactly what I say. Place your hand directly on Ryoga's forehead and concentrate all your power into that one spot. Kinda like when you fire a Sacred Arrow. You should then be able to bring out his demon side."

Kagome nodded in determination before laid her right hand against Ryoga's forehead as instructed.

"Hey! Wait a second! What're you…?" But, Ryoga couldn't finished his sentence, because as Kagome removed her hand and he had noticed that it now had a faint pink glow. And after a few seconds, Ryoga's entire body pulsed, like when Inuyasha first woke up. And over the course of the next few minutes, new changes began to occur to Ryoga's appearance.

Black slender wolf ears now stuck up from the top of his shaggy black hair. And these new ears trembled at their sudden sensitivity before flicking forward towards Mrs. Higurashi, who gave a loud squeal of delight.

"Oh my God! They're so cute!" she squealed like a young school girl."

Ryoga winced in pain as the high-pitched squeals reached his new ears, only to find out that they were several times louder than ever before.

Hw shook his head a few times to clear it. He then gingerly touched the top of his head in curiousity.

"E…Ears?" he stammered in shock.

As he did this, Inuyasha leaned forward and peered into Ryoga's eyes, making him lean back a bit more.

"Your eyes have changed color, too. Before they were brown, but now they're a rich honey brown."

Hearing this, Kagome stared into Ryoga's eyes as well.

"You're right! They have changed color!"

Ryoga gave a nervous chuckle as he rubbed the back of his head.

"Re…Really?"

Mrs. Higurashi squealed again, making both Ryoga and Inuyasha's ears once again go flat against their heads. The older woman then tugged on one of Ryoga's ears, making it perk up in pain.

"Your ears are just so cute, Ryoga! Just like Inuyasha's!"

Ryoga gave a small yelp as she pulled harder and quickly removed the older woman's hand from his new ears.

"Please do not touch my ears." he said firmly.

Mrs. Higurashi blinked in surprise for a few seconds, then gave him a friendly smile.

"Of course. I won't touch your ears anymore. I guess I just got a little carried away."

Just then, Inuyasha stood up and turned to Kagome.

"We need to get going, Kagome."

"Where?" Ryoga asked curiously.

"We're going back to my time." the silver-haired teen said stubbornly.

"Wait a minute, Inuyasha. Don't you think we should at least take Ryoga back to his house? I mean, he's just recovered from a harsh fever and I'm sure it's a lot to take in that he's half demon." she said, looking towards Inuyasha while Ryoga gave them each a panicked look.

"Oh, no! I…It's fine, really! You don't need to take me home!" he said, waving his hands in front of him.

This caused Mrs. Higurashi to take a good look at his dirty, torn clothing and old backpack.

"Ryoga…" she said gently. "Did you…run away from home?"

Suddenly, Ryoga stopped waving his hands around and looked at the older woman with a blank stare. After which, a dark shadow past across his eyes for a split second before they went back to normal.

"That's none of your business!" he said coldly before lowering his eyes.

"I'm sorry for asking that, dear. I didn't realise it was so personal to you." Mrs. Higurashi said with a frown.

"And I'm sorry for speaking to you like that, Mrs. Higurashi." said Ryoga, looking back up. "And I may not want to go home, but there is one place that I do want to go before I leave on my travels again."

This caused Inuyasha to roll his eyes in annoyed irritation.

"And where's that? 'Cause after we go there, me 'nd Kagome need to get going." he said, crossing his arms and giving into the pleading look in Kagome's eyes.

And Ryoga wasn't completely sure, but he thought he could see a faint blush spreading across the young man's cheeks.

Ryoga looked at Kagome, then Inuyasha, and, finally, Mrs. Higurashi. All of whom were looking at him expectantly.

His ears trembled as he answered their stares in a low voice.

"The Tendo Dojo."


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

"I'll drive you to the Tendo Dojo if you want." Mrs. Higurashi said as Ryoga stood up.

"Really?! You will?!" he asked, his new honey-brown eyes sparkling with hope.

Mrs. Higurashi nodded as she gave Ryoga a soft motherly smile.

"Of course. It would be no trouble at all."

Ryoga smiled back, showing off his new, sharper fangs.

"Thank you! This way I won't get lost!" he exclaimed, but he mumbled this last part. Unfortunately, Inuyasha caught every word.

"What do you mean, "you won't get lost"? he asked, narrowing his golden eyes.

Ryoga copied the dog demon's stance and crossed his arms over his chest in a show of stubborness. But, after several minutes of harsh glaring, Ryoga sighed in resignation as he answered.

"I get lost really easily, alright? Hell, I get lost just going to the bathroom. I'm not sure why. All I know is that it has something to do with my family."

Inuyasha smirked as he let out a smug chuckle.

"Really? Just going to the bathroom? That's so stupid!"

Ryoga gave a low growl from somewhere deep in his throat.

"What was that?!" he snarled, causing Kagome then turned to Inuyasha with a harsh glare.

"Inuyasha! Don't be mean to Ryoga!" she scolded.

"Tsk! Well, it is! How could anyone get lost in such a short distance? If it were me, I could just use my sense of smell to know exactly where I am!"

Just then, Ryoga sprang forwards with the same strength he would've used against Ranma, but he found himself moving much too fast, letting Inuyasha dodge his strike with ease. In fact, the silver haired demon was about to draw his sword when Kagome yelled out in an angry rant.

"SIT BOY!" she shouted, causing Inuyasha to slam into the floor with a startled yelp.

And seeing this had Ryoga letting out a loud burst of smug laughter.

"That is awesome! Kagome can stop you cold just by telling you to 'sit'! You must be more dog than human if that's all it takes to control you!"

Ryoga continued to laugh uncontrollably as Inuyasha glared up at him from the floor.

"Shut your mouth, you wolfish bastard!" he growled, finally able to move, only to jump up and grab hold of Ryoga's shirt.

As he did this, Ryoga gave the enraged demon a primal growl, "You wanna fight, tough guy?"

"Now, now. Break it up, you two." Mrs. Higurashi announced loudly.

Sighing heavily, Inuyasha reluctantly let go of Ryoga and nodded. Ryoga then picked up his backpack, not to mention, Kagome's oversized bag.

"Oh! Are you okay with holding my bag as well?" asked Kagome.

And Ryoga nodded his head as he answered.

"I'll be fine. For some reason, even my own overpacked bag feels light as a feather. It's kinda nice."

This statement caused Inuyasha to turn to Ryoga with a surprisingly friendly look.

"There's a reason for that, along with your overshot jump from earlier. Now that you're in your demonic form, you'll begin noticing a large increase in your senses, not to mention your physical strength."

Ryoga took a few minutes to think about this statement, after which, he turned back to the others with a wide grin.

"Well, let's get movin'." he said as the group walked out of the room and the house and into the front yard, only to have to walk for another several minutes until they finally reached Mrs. Higurashi's car.

"Are we going travel there in this?" Ryoga asked from the head of the group.

He turned around, only to see Kagome, Inuyasha, and her mother staring at him in stunned surprise.

"What?"

"Nothing. It's just…we thought you get lost easily? And not only that, but you somehow knew this was my mom's car."

However, this last bit of information was lost on Ryoga, for he was still stuck on something else.

"Wh…What was that first thing you said?" he asked in an awed whisper.

"We thought you get lost easily?" Kagome asked, confused.

"I…I didn't get lost!" he cheered happily. "I made my way somewhere without getting lost!"

As he yelled in joy, Ryoga spun around and wrapped his arms around himself with glee.

Kagome and Inuyasha each sweat-dropped as they watched the strange scene taking place in front of them.

"I've never seen someone so excited about not being lost." Kagome said to Inuyasha in slight amusement.

However, their attentions were quickly brought around to the sounds of Mrs. Higurashi giving a shrill whistle.

"All right, then. Everyone in!" she called out as she got into the front seat.

But, as Kagome got in the passenger side door and Ryoga got in the back, Inuyasha just stared at the car in confusion as his ears twitched slightly.

"Oh, that's right! You've never evevn seen a car before, have you, Inuyasha?" asked Ms. Higurashi in an amused tone.

Inuysha nodded as he continued to stare at the car with mistrust.

"I bet I could run faster than this weird hunk of metal." he said skeptically.

Ryoga, however, just rooled his eyes in annoyance.

"Why don't you just get in? Trust me, it'll go much faster than this conversation." he said with a slight smirk.

The silver haired demon glared at Ryoga in a show of stubborness.

"Why don't you just shut up?" he growled under his breath where only Ryoga would hear.

Ryoga growled back in response as Kagome sighed in exasperation.

"Inuyasha, get in. Or do I have to S-I-T you?" she said with a dark aura growing around her, causing Inuyasha to gulp as he quickly climbed in.

"Okay then. Let's get you to the Tendo Dojo." Mrs. Higurashi said as she started the car with a loud roar from the engine.

***TIME SKIP***

The group of four had been traveling for nearly thirty minutes when Kagome suddenly spoke up with a series of questions for Ryoga.

"So, Ryoga? Why exactly do you have to go to the Tendo Dojo before you leave on your travels? When you told us about it, it seemed to be important to you."

Hearing this, Ryoga's new ears flattened in embarrassment as he tried to decide how to answer her.

"Oh…! Um…just to see my friends before I go on my training mission." he said with a nervous laugh, causing Inuyasha to narrow his eyes in suspicion.

"Really? Your friends? What are they like?" Kagome asked, curiously.

"Well…I don't really see them as often as I'd like 'cause I'd get lost, but they're always nice to me when I do see them. And I do have a rival, but…" he said, trailing off. And Inuyasha ears perked out at that.

"Ya got a rival?" he asked as Ryoga nodded in way of an answer.

Yes. His name's Ranma. Ranma Saotome."

"But, how did you become rivals in the first place?" the dog demon questioned next.

"You don't want to know…" muttered Ryoga darkly.

Kagome and Inuyasha glanced at each other, then back at Ryoga when all of a sudden, Mrs. Higurashi called out to the entire car in a cheerful voice.

"We're here!" she announced as she pulled up just outside the dojo.

"Thanks for the ride, Mom!" Kagome said, opening the door and climbing out of the car.

Ryoga climbed out after her, then turned to Mrs. Higurashi and bowed respectively.

"Thank you for bringing me here, ma'am." he said before standing up straight and the older woman bowed her head in response.

"It was my pleasure, Ryoga."

Inuyasha climbed out last, muttering to himself, but, Ryoga's new ears flicked as he caught a few words.

"What was that?" he muttered back with a smirk in a low voice so only Inuyasha could hear.

This caused Inuyasha to round on Ryoga on him in anger.

"I said, 'I still bet I could go faster than this metal death trap." he said, crossing his arms stubbornly.

Ryoga opened his mouth to laugh, but was suddenly interrputed by a loud female voice yelling, "RANMA, YOU JERK!", along with a loud crash that each emitted from inside the house.

"Well…you kids have fun! And, Inuyasha, I'm trusting you to bring my little girl home safe." Mrs. Higurashi said before restarting the car and driving away, leaving the three teens standing outside the Tendo Dojo, listening to the sounds of angry shouts from the garden.

"Ryoga…are you sure this is the place?" Kagome asked nervously.

However, Ryoga just nodded before he quickly walked around to the back of the garden, only to be followed closely by Kagome and Inuyasha.

And there they found a dark-haired teen around sixteen years old facedown in the dirt in a heap, along with a short-haired girl around the same age standing over him with a large, wodden mallet.

"All I asked was for you to try my cooking! You didn't have to be so rude about it!" the girl snapped, obviously enraged.

"And Why should I try your cooking in the first place? You tryin' to poison me or something?" the young man yelled back, standing up and throwing his arms up in a rage.

The girl's eyes filled with tears before she slammed the overlarge mallet down on his head, causing Kagome and Inuyasha to wince in surprise.

You big dummy! See if I care!" she yelled as she turned and ran back into the house in tears.

The young man groaned as he got up from his hole in the ground.

"Stupid uncute tomboy." he muttered under his breath.

Unfortunately, however, Ryoga's new, more sensitive ears picked up every word.

"RANMA, PREPARE TO DIE!" he yelled as he charged forward at top speed.

The boy was able to dodge, but just barely. He landed carefully to the side and quickly set his body in a defensive stance.

"The hell, Ryoga! What was that for?" he screamed in anger, only to step back in shock when he saw Ryoga's strange new features.

Ryoga, however, continued to growl as he answered.

"This is for what you said about Akane!" he bellowed in a rage.

He tried to charge forward in an attack on Ranma, but before he could move two inches, Inuyasha grabbed Ryoga by the wrists to hold him back.

"What are you doing?! Let me go!" Ryoga snarled as he fought against his capturer.

But, Inuyasha just snarled back in response as Kagome stepped forward with a pitying look.

"Ryoga…Don't you think it's better to not attack your friends for no reason?"

Ranma blinked in surprise at these strangers, who were treating Ryoga with such familiarity.

""Who're your new friends, Pig-breath?" he asked, trying to keep a straight face.

But, as he was talking, Inuyasha was confused as to the curious new scent coming off the dark-haired teen.

' _This is weird. This guy smells like both a male and a female._ ' he thought to himself.

Just then, an older girl with long brown hair tied back with a large white ribbon, came out into the garden and gasped in pleasent surprise.

"Oh my! Welcome back, Ryoga!" she said with a soft motherly smile, making Ryoga's new ears twitch in response.

"Would you and your new friends like to come in? We were just about to have some lunch?" the girl finished before she walked back inside.

"Food?" Ranma and Inuyasha asked at the same time and followed her into the house, causing Kagome to sigh in exasperation.

"Oh, Inuyasha." she said softly. "Let's just go inside then, shall we?"

Ryoga nodded in response as he followed the dark-haired maiden through the kitchen door. And once inside, Kasumi called upstairs for someone named Akane and Nabiki. After which, she led their visitors into the dining room, where Kagome and Inuyasha were surprised to see a large panda sitting on the open back porch, playing Go with an older gentleman wearing a simple green kimono with long black hair and a thick moustache. They said nothing as the group entered the room, but the older girl introduced the panda as Ranma's father, Genma Saotome, the older man as her own father, Soun Tendo, and herslf as the eldest daughter, Kasumi Tendo. Soun then gave the group a kind smile while the panda held up a wooden sign that read " _Hello_ ".

Suddenly, the short-haired girl from earlier came into the room with a tall girl with a dark brown bob and mischevious eyes.

"Oh! Welcome back, Ryoga!" the older girl said happily as she sat down next to him, making his tan cheeks turn a pale pink.

The girl then smiled at Inuyasha and Kagome, giving a slight jump when she saw the way Inuyasha was devouring the bowl of steaming ramen Kasumi had placed in front of him.

"He…Hello there! My name is Akane Tendo and this is my older sister, Nabiki." she said, pointing to herself and the taller girl.

As Kasumi finished handing out bowls of ramen and was now pouring mugs of fresh green tea, Nabiki pointed to Ryoga and Inuyasha's ears with an interested look.

"So…why do you two have those weird ears on your heads? Some kinda new fad I've yet to hear about? And is your hair really that silver or is it dyed that way?" she asked with an odd look that had Inuyasha thinking carefullt about what to share.

But, eventually, he just settled on the truth.

"We're both half demons and, yes, my hair is naturally silver."

Several seconds passed before they all screamed at the same time, "HALF DEMONS?", while Genma was holding up a sign with the words on it, causing Ryoga and Inuyasha to clutch their heads in pain as their ears lay flat against their skulls.

"That's what I said, didn't I?" Inuyasha yelled in irritation.

After the initial shock had worn off, Ranma gave a loud burst of laughter.

"Sweet! So, all this time…I've been beating a half demon at every opportunity?" he said with a smug smile.

"Human, actually." corrected Kagome. "For some reason, Ryoga was in his full human form until now."

This had everyone at the table nodding their heads in acceptance, except Inuyasha who was still slurping his bowl of raman in delight.

"So, exactly what kind of demons are you two?"Soun asked with surprising enthusiasum.

This caused Inuyasha and Kagome to gape at the group in utter shock.

"You mean…you all aren't scared? You aren't even surprised in the least?" Kagome asked, confused.

To answer her questions, the group let out a round of amused laughter.

"Trust me…" Akane said with a wide grin. "If you knew the weird stuff we've gone through since Ranma and Mr. Saotome moved in, you wouldn't question our reaction your news."

After taking a few seconds to absorb this, Inuyasha set his bowl on the table with a dull thud.

"Well then, to answer your question, I'm half dog demon and he's half wolf."

"I see…" Nabiki said with a sly grin while Kasumi went back into the kitchen.

Akane then smiled at Ryoga, who was still staring at her with a slight blush.

"So, what are you going to do now that you're half demon? Are you still planning to travel?" she asked with a concerned look.

"Probably. After all, I still need to…" he suddenly stopped talking, but was saved from explaining by Kasumi walking back into the room.

"Father, I need to go to the market. We need some more rice and vegetables for dinner."

Soun nodded in response to his daughter's request, "That's fine, Kasumi."

And, suddenly, Ryoga stood up in an obvious rush.

"I'll come with you. I need to buy some food and supplies, anyway."

Kasumi gave him a kind smile as she answered him.

"Why, thank you, Ryoga. I'll be glad for your help."

And with that, Ryoga and Kasumi left the dojo for the market and Ranma turned to Inuyasha with a slight smirk.

"So…you do any fighting?" he asked.

"Mostly with my sword, but I can also fight hand to hand. Why?"

"How would you like to spar a bit?" Ranma asked, standing up.

"You're on." the silver-haired teen said with a confident grin.

"You comin', Akane" Ranma called over his shoulder.

"Sure thing. I'll be there in a second."

So, Ranma and Inuyasha left the room as Akane turned to Kagome with an interested look.

"So, how long have you been dating Inuyasha?"

And her question caused Kagome's face to turn a bright cherry red from embarrassment.

"We're not…I mean, that's just…"

Suddenly, Akane gave an amused giggle as she watched Kagome's reaction.

"I was only kidding, but now I see you do have strong feelings for him. But, if he's anything like Ranma, he's probably completely oblivious to how you feel. So, all I can say is…best of luck. Later!" the short-haired teen finished with a small smile as she stood up from her seat and headed for the dojo to spar with the boys.

Just then, Nabiki got up and grabbed up Ryoga's backpack, only to drag it closer to her and Kagome and sit down next to it.

"Wha…What are you doing?" Kagome asked as she watched Nabiki open the bag's clasp.

"I've never gone through Ryoga's bag. He always keeps it close to him and doesn't let anyone touch it. I wanna know why." the scheming teen said as she continued to rummage through it.

"Well, I'm sure he has a good reason why he doesn't like people going through his things." Kagome reasoned while Nabiki began to pull things out of the backpack.

"Should…Should you really be removing anything?" Kagome questioned nervously.

"It's fine. It's fine. I'll put everything back." Nabiki said with a dismissive wave.

Kagome turned to Soun and Genma to help her out, but they were completely immersed in their game and totally ignoring what was going on in front of them.

At that moment, Nabiki pulled out a small photograph.

"No way! Is that a young Ryoga?" she gasped before she passed the picture to Kagome, who stared at it curiously.

The boy in the picture looked to be about five years old and was smiling at the camera with a fanged grin. He had short, shaggy black hair and bright honey brown eyes. It looked her as if the boy were reached out for whoever was taking the picture. Indeed, it was a younger Ryoga Hibiki.

"Awwwww! He looks so cute!" the ebony-haired teen squealed in delight.

Just then, Nabiki was able to find another photograph from the depths of the bag.

"Wait a second. Who's this boy?" she questioned in wonder.

Kagome took this picture from her as well and glanced the image with her own curiousity.

The boy in question had long wavy black hair that reached his shoulders and was pulled back in a low ponytail down his back, while his eyes were colored in a shade of deep gold. His clothing consisted of a casual black kimono and a pair of bamboo sandals. He looked incredibly familiar, but when Kagome tried to recall from where, a white-hot pain shot out from behind her eyes and through her entire skull.

"AGH!" she cried out as she clutched the side of her head in surprise.

"You ok?" Nabiki asked, glancing up in confusion.

Kagome nodded as she gave her a weak smile, "Fine. I just felt a little dizzy, that's all."

Nabiki shrugged dismissively as she continued her search through Ryoga's backpack. And, after another few minutes of digging, the mischevious teen pulled out a VHS tape, with a sticker on it that read "DO NOT TOUCH!" in both Japanese and Chinese.

"Hmmmm. I wonder what this is?" she muttered to herself as she set it down beside her.

And at that moment, Akane stormed back into the room, followed closely by Ranma and Inuyasha.

"Geez, Akane! All we did was beat you in a practice fight! Why do you have to make such a big deal out of it?" Ranma was saying to her as the short-haired teen sat down next to Kagome in a huff. She even wore a heavy frown on her face as she continued to glare angrily at both boys.

"It was supposed to be 1on1, but, instead, you both ganged up on me!" she yelled furiously.

"How?! How did we do that?! All we did was tap you on the head to win the fight!" Ranma said with a sigh.

"You don't have to rub it in, you jerk!" Akane yelled as she finally lost her temper and threw him out of the room and into the small pond located in the middle of the outside garden. And after a few seconds, the teen resurfaced as an incredibly busty redheaded girl.

"YOU ARE SO UNCUTE!" she yelled in a huff before sticking outnher tongue.

"I KNEW IT! I KNEW YOU WERE HALF FEMALE!" Inuyasha shouted in triumph as Ranma rung out her now too-big shirt and reentered the room.

"How'd you guess? Could you smell it or something?" Ranma asked as she grabbed a tea kettle filled with boiling water. He then poured over himself, causing the teen to change back into his male form.

"Wow! What is it? Some kind of magic?" Kagome asked in awe.

"Sort of." Ranma answered as he sat back down at the table, "I'll explain. Me and Pop were off on a training mission to China. And once there, we made our way to a hidden training ground known as Jusenko. Excited for the challenge, Pop 'nd I began to spar, not realizing the place was cursed. I knocked Pop down first and fell into a pool of water known as the Spring of Drowned Panda…" at that moment, Genma held up another sign that read, ' _After which, I knocked Ranma into the Spring of Drowned Girl_ '.

"I see." Kagome said as she nodded in understanding.

"So, Nabiki…why are you taking things out of Ryoga's bag?" Akane asked as she finally noticed the small pile of items at her sister's feet.

"I wanted to see what's in it." Nabiki answered like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Hey, what's this tape of?" Ranma asked as he picked up the VHS tape curiously.

"Not sure. Why don't we find out?" Nabiki said with a devious gleam in her eyes.

"But, should we really?" Akane questioned in a worried tone.

She looked toward Genma and her father, but once again, they ignored everything for the sake of their game.

After a few seconds of thought, Ranma just gave the group a slight shrug.

"He'll never know if we don't tell him." he said as he placed the tape in the player and turning on the TV.

"Here, here!" Nabiki said, picking up the remote and pressed play…


End file.
